Girl Cyborg: A Dystopian Action Adventure Thriller

Hay Ride

When Bess opened her eyes, it was dark outside her window. The quiet of the country and lack of lights were eerie. She hated this place, so secluded she couldn't hear traffic or subway cars; so far north she couldn't see the smudge of light she had observed over the city on her rare trips beyond the suburbs. Bedabun had expanded into the surrounding commuter cities that grew up around it, but Bess was well beyond those now. The black night with its Milky way halo was proof of it.

The door swung open and Lance barged in. Bess was about to complain until the light from the hallway revealed his grim expression. He put a finger to his lips and Bess stayed silent. He tiptoed to the window. By the way he stood perfectly still, she knew something was wrong.

"I have to hide you," he said.

"What's happening?"

"One of my friends called. There's an SUV headed this way, slowing down to check out all the farms it passes. They must be looking for you."

"Great. Let's send up a flare." Bess tried to sit up but it was harder than yesterday. She lay back down. "I need an Academy doctor."

"It's not an Academy vehicle. It's probably the bounty hunter from the night market. He'll shoot through anything that gets between him and you."

"You and your sister?"

"She's safe at her house with my parents. It's just you and me now. Can you stand?"

Bess pressed her hands into the mattress to help her sit up. She slid her legs over the side of the bed but when she put her weight on them, they melted like butter.

"Here." He held out both hands and helped her to her feet. When she was standing, he draped her left arm over his left shoulder and wrapped his right arm around her waist to support her. They hobbled along the hallway and when they started down the stairs, the pain of each step shot through her wound. She gasped and winced but refused to cry out.

"Almost there," he said. When they reached the front hall, he opened the door and crisp country air flooded her senses. There was something unnatural about that silence. Shouldn't she hear something? She hesitated, not wanting to leave the warm house where she felt safe.

Lance pushed her forward. She tried to wiggle free but he tightened the grip on her waist and the hand draped over his shoulders. He was much taller, causing her to walk lopsided but it kept her upright.

"We have to go faster."

They ran a slow three-legged race into the yard and around through the back gate. The barn was less than 100 metres behind the house but each bumpy step drove a nail of pain through her back. She stumbled, tried to stop and rest.

"We have to keep moving. If the bounty hunter sees you, we're both dead."

Bess held her breath until they entered the barn and Lance switched on the lights. There was no door to close behind them and she was painfully aware of light spilling out the many gaps in the boards. She looked around for a place to hide.

There were no animal stalls, just scattered hay on the earthen floor. Bess sneezed three times.

"Don't tell me you have cyber allergies." He smiled.

"I'm human."

"Good, there won't be anything in your body for the bounty hunter's sensors to detect."

"If he finds me, I've been trained in hand-to-hand combat."

"Forget it. The better you fight, the more valuable you are on the black market."

"You have no faith I can kick his ass."

"You can hardly walk, and he'll be well-armed. If he thinks you can hurt him, he'll just shoot you."

"What, and damage the merchandise?"

Lance wasn't listening. He walked to the centre of the barn and started to pull a weathered rope dangling from the ceiling. Bess looked up.

A rail was suspended lengthwise, inside the peak of the roof. With a loud screech of metal on metal, Lance started pulling a block and tackle out of the hayloft across the rail. From it hung a set of four rusty hooks on a chain. When it reached the centre, he lowered the hooks and grabbed an ancient bale of hay from a corner of the barn. It was the old-fashioned square kind of hay bale and Lance stuck the four hooks into it, one grabbing the bale from each side like talons.

"Here, stand on the hay bale and hold tight to the chain."

"You're kidding me."

"C'mon, there isn't much time."

"If you think you're going to lift me up on that rusty thing..."

"I'm putting you into the hay loft. He won't look up there."

Bess looked at the bale of hay. "You can't expect me to ride into the air on a piece of shredded wheat. What if it comes apart in the air?"

"Do the people you are rescuing give you this hard a time?"

"No, but I know what I'm doing."

"So do I. Hop on board or plan B is burying you in the backyard."

Bess checked but he wasn't smiling.

She stepped onto the hay bale and held the chain in a death grip. Lance started pulling and she felt herself rise unsteadily, and then start swinging crazily as she neared the top of the barn. When the block reached the rail, the contraption suddenly jolted horizontally, sending her and the hay bale longwise across the barn and into the hayloft at the far end.

"Jump!"

Bess was on a collision course with the broad hayloft window. 3... 2... 1... She was about to leap off when the rusty claws holding the hay let go, tumbling her onto the floor of the hayloft.

She got up, spluttering and spitting hay from her mouth. She walked to the edge of the platform and looked down at Lance, eight metres below. "What was that for?"

"You weren't going to jump in time."

"I'm coming back down there, and when I do I'm going to make you ride the hay bale."

"Careful!" Lance gestured stop with his hands. "The barn is starting to rot and parts of the floor are unstable. If I were you, I'd test each spot before I put my weight down."

"Says the man who just flung me to the floor."

"Sorry."

"Is there a weapon you could send up to me? I'm not the fighting type but you've put me in sniper position."

"Don't worry, I'll be in the house with my shotgun."

"Oh great. You could be in there drinking beer and haggling over my price with the bounty hunter."

"After everything I've done for you..."

"Why should I believe anything you say after you kidnapped me?"

"Trust me, I shouldn't have. Saving you was the best way to get myself killed."

"You don't seem suicidal, so why keep helping me?"

"Exactly."

"I don't understand."

"Neither do I but I can't help it. In your sleep, my sister heard you repeating that you just had to go back and rescue that baby."

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Thanks,

Maaja